How to Apply for a German Working Holiday Visa
This page details how, where and when to apply for a German Working Holiday Visa at a German consulate or embassy. Explore our guide below and discover exactly what you need to know for a smooth and successful visa application.
Who is this guide for?
👌 Only citizens from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Uruguay can apply for the German Working Holiday Visa.
To apply, you must be 18–30 years old (you can apply until your 31st birthday). The only exception to this is Canadians, who can be 18–35 years old (you can apply until your 36th birthday).
🌎 Only citizens from certain countries are permitted to apply for the German Working Holiday Visa at an immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) after their arrival in Germany. If you are from Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan or New Zealand, you can enter Germany without a visa for 90 days. During this 90-day period, you can apply for a German Working Holiday Visa in Germany. We have explained how to do this in the following guide:
🛑 Citizens from all other countries must apply for the German Working Holiday Visa before arriving in Germany. This must be done at a German consulate or embassy outside of Germany. This guide is for you.
For an overview of how to set up in Germany on a working holiday, see our German Working Holiday Checklist.
Where can you apply for the German Working Holiday Visa?
Where you can apply for the German Working Holiday Visa varies depending on your nationality. While some nationalities can apply at an immigration office in Germany or at any German embassy/consulate around the world, other nationalities are limited to just the German embassy or consulate in their home country.
Australian, Canadian, Israeli, Japanese and New Zealand citizens can apply:
At an immigration office in Germany
At a German embassy/consulate in their home country
At any German embassy/consulate overseas
Citizens of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay can apply:
At a German embassy/consulate in their home country
At any German embassy/consulate overseas
Citizens of Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Brazil can apply:
Only at the German embassy or consulate in their home country (e.g. for South Korean citizens, the application must be lodged in Seoul)
❗ Note: If applying for the German Working Holiday Visa at a German embassy or consulate outside of your home country (e.g. if you are an Australian citizen applying at the German embassy in Prague), then we suggest first contacting the embassy or consulate to confirm that they can and are willing to process your application.
German Working Holiday Visa: Application process for applying at a German embassy/consulate
1️⃣ Book a German Working Holiday Visa appointment at your local German embassy or consulate
2️⃣ Apply for the German Working Holiday Visa at your local German embassy or consulate
We have expanded on these steps below.
1️⃣ Book a German Working Holiday Visa appointment at your local German embassy or consulate
You can apply for the German Working Holiday Visa at your local German embassy or consulate. To do this, you must first schedule a suitable visa appointment at your local embassy or consulate:
Find your local German embassy or consulate using this search tool.
Once on the relevant embassy/consulate website, you should navigate to their visa appointment booking platform. This can be hard to find.
Once on the visa appointment booking platform, simply select the visa type you would like to apply for, and a time and date that suits you.
Alternatively, here is a quick link to the appointment booking platform for a wide range of German embassies and consulates around the world. Note: not all German embassies/consulates are shown in this list.
📅 Top tip! Visa appointment slots often fill up months in advance. To avoid unexpected visa delays, we suggest starting to search for a suitable appointment 3 months before your intended move date to Germany.
Once you have secured a suitable visa appointment, you will receive an email detailing the time, date and location for your appointment. You can now start preparing the relevant paperwork for step 2; applying for your German Working Holiday Visa at your local German embassy or consulate.
2️⃣ Apply for the German Working Holiday Visa at your local German embassy or consulate
❗ Note: Each German embassy/consulate tends to have slightly different application requirements. However, the documents listed below are the standard, minimum application documents required for the German Working Holiday Visa. Prior to your appointment, we recommend that you double-check with your local embassy or consulate to see if they have any additional requirements on top of what is listed below.
To apply for a German Working Holiday Visa at your local German consulate or embassy, you will be required to submit:
✅ A passport
Your passport must:
Have at least 2 free pages.
Be valid for 3 months longer than the intended visa duration.
Have been issued within the last 10 years.
You should also provide a photocopy of your passport’s data page.
✅ A passport photo
Guidelines for taking compliant biometric passport photos can be found here. Some embassies/consulates will request multiple photos so we recommend taking at least 3 identical passport photos to your appointment.
✅ Health insurance
You must have suitable health insurance cover to apply for the German Working Holiday Visa. The insurance must cover:
The entire duration of the 12-month visa.
At least €30,000 in medical expenses.
Repatriation to your home country.
Top tip! To ensure you meet the health insurance requirements for the German Working Holiday Visa, our favourite option is Feather’s expat health insurance. This policy not only meets the requirements for the visa and is approved by almost all German embassies and consulates but is also competitively priced and can be quickly signed up for online. For further info, see our guide to Feather Insurance.
❗ Note: Some German embassies and consulates have stricter insurance requirements than those listed above. This primarily applies if you are applying for the visa at a German embassy or consulate in Japan, South Korea or Taiwan – if this applies to you, get in touch with the relevant embassy or consulate to find out their specific insurance requirements prior to applying.
✅ Proof of funds
You must show that you have sufficient savings to live off during your first couple of months in Germany. For this, most German embassies and consulates accept a recent bank statement that shows:
Your name
The account balance
The date of the balance (if possible, the bank statement should be no older than 5 days old at the time of your visa appointment)
The amount of savings that you are required to show varies depending on where you are applying for the German Working Holiday Visa. However, in general, you are required to show between €1200–€4000 in savings. Some German embassies/consulates will also require that the required savings have been in your account for at least 3 months at the time of application.
✅ Visa application form
You must complete and submit a visa application form. The German embassy or consulate may request that you do this via an online form called VIDEX.
Alternatively, you can download a PDF copy of the visa application form here.
✅ Visa application fee
The fee for the visa varies depending on where you apply. However, in most cases, the visa fee charged by the German embassy or consulate is €75 (payable in local currency).
Additional info
Listed above are the standard application documents that are requested as part of your German Working Holiday Visa application. Other documents that are requested by some German embassies or consulates include:
➕ A cover letter
Detailing your plans, goals and motivations for doing a working holiday in Germany.
➕ CV
Detailing your education and professional experience.
➕ Proof of accommodation
Some German embassies/consulates need to see proof of where you will be living on arrival in Germany. In general, you can show:
A rental contract
OR
A booking confirmation for a hotel or hostel
If you have arranged to stay with a friend or relative on arrival in Germany, then you can instead provide the embassy/consulate with their name and full address as well as a copy of their passport data page and Anmeldung certificate.
For tips on how to secure both short-term and long-term accommodation in Germany, see our German Apartment Hunting Guide.
➕ Flight booking
Some German embassies/consulates will request to see a flight booking to Germany prior to issuing your visa. For this, you can generally show a flight ticket or booking itinerary.
➕ Liability insurance
In addition to suitable health insurance (detailed above), some German embassies/consulates also require that you have personal liability insurance. We suggest taking out a policy with Feather, who offer expat-friendly, affordable liability insurance for your time in Germany.
🎉 Congratulations! You have now completed all the steps for applying for a Working Holiday Visa at a German embassy/consulate! Once approved, you can move to Germany and start enjoying your 12-month working holiday.
For an overview of how to set up in Germany on a working holiday, see our German Working Holiday Checklist.